Attachment for industrial trucks



April 22, 1952 s, ss 2,593,820

ATTACHMENT FOR INDUSTRIAL TRUCKS Filed Feb. 19, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet l 26267 27 SAMUEL WEISS ATTORN EY April 22, 1952 I s. WEISS 2,593,820

ATTACHMENT FOR INDUSTRIAL TRUCKS Filed Feb. 19, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 2itlf 8 Z I I T:

I I. N 1

i H I E I T N I\ v I l l I I INVENTOR. SAMUEL WEISS ATTORNEY April 22,1952 s WEISS 2,593,820

ATTACHMENT FOR INDUSTRIAL TRUCKS Filed Feb. 19, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 5INVENTOR. SAMUEL WEISS ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 22, 1952 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE 2,593,826 ATTACHMENT FOR INDUSTRIAL TRUCKS Samuel Weiss,Portland, Oreg. Application'February 19, 1949, Serial No. 77,420

(cram-6's) 2 Claims.

This invention relates to attachments for industrial or end lift trucksby means of which crates, barrels and similar articles of freight may behandled by the truck.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved and specialattachment, capable of being mounted on the end of an industrial truck,which will facilitate the lifting and moving of a crate, barrel, orsimilar article of freight by the operator of the truck.

Ordinarily, when an object such as a crate or barrel is to be loaded onthe end lift of an industrial truck, such object must first be tippedmanually in a forward direction to enable the load-supporting member ormembers attached to the end lift to be inserted under the object, afterwhich the object is tipped back in opposite direction until it issupported entirely by the end lift.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an end liftattachment by which this tipping and loading of the object will be doneentirely through the medium of the attachment in cooperation with theend lift, and entirely by and under the control of the operator on thetruck, thus simplifying and facilitating the handling and moving of suchfreight and reducing the labor costs involved.

The manner which my present attachment is constructed and operated, andthe way in which the above objects and other incidental ad'- vantagesare attained will be briefly explained with reference to theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the main portion of my attachment,showing the same attached in position on the elevator frame of the endlift of an industrial truck, the truck and end lift, however, beingentirely omitted from the figure;

Fig. 2 is a corresponding side elevation of my attachment showing thesame in place on the front of an industrial truck;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the attachment alone; 7

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of a slightly modified form of myattachment;

Fig. 5 is acorresponding side elevation of the attachment of Fig. 4;

Figs. 6A, 6B, 6C and 6D are diagrammatic side elevations illustratingthe operation of my attachment; and

Fig. 7 is a side elevation showing a further slightly modified form inwhich my attachment may be made.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, my attachment consists of two parts,namely a base section, on

which the base of the article to be lifted and moved is caused to rest,and an upper section, which includes means for engaging the top or upperportion of thearticle for the purpose of tipping the article and thenfor the purpose of holding the article steadily on the end lift, Thefunctions performed by these two parts will be more clearly apparentlater. These two parts are mounted on, and removably secured to, theelevator frame I2 of the customary end lift H (indicated in part in Fig.2) of the industrial truck (the forward end of which is indicated'inFig. '2 by the reference character 'i'll) The base section of myattachment will be first described.

A pair of foot, L-shaped brackets 24 are adjustably mounted on thebottom cross member of the elevator frame I? by means of bolts 60, whichextend through vertical adjustment slots 6| in the brackets 24. Toppositioning screws 62 extend downwardly through the top horizontalflanges of the brackets 24 to engage the top edge of the bottom crossmember of the el'evato'r'frame l2 and thus combine in holding suchbrackets in the desired position at the bottom of the elevator frame.Each bracket 24 terminates at the bottom in a sleeve 21. A hinge pinextending through each sleeve 21 has its ends mounted in a pair of ears26 respectively, which are formed integral with, and extend upwardlyfrom, the hinged base plate 25. I

When the end lift II and the elevator frame l2 of the end lift are invertical position, as shown in Fig. 2, the hinged base plate '25 will besubstantially horizontal and parallel with the ground surface and, whenthe elevator frame is in lowest position the base plate 25 will bespaced a slight distance above the ground surface. The inner edge of thebase plat'eeXtends under the bottom edge of the elevator frame, as shownin Fig. 2, and engages the bottom edge when the elevator frame ispositioned vertically, and thus keeps the base plate 25 from swingingdownwardly into contact with the ground surface. However, it will beevident from Fig. 2 that when the end lift I, and with it the elevatorframe 12, are tipped forwardly, the front edge of the base plate 25 canbe made to contact the ground surface. The base plate 25 may berectangular or may be of any desired and convenient shape'mos t suitablefor the particular type of freight article being handled by the truck.For'example, I have found it convenient when moving barrels with myattachment, to have the front edge of the base plate cut back to form anarc of a circle of a diameter slightly less than that of the bottom of astandard barrel. Such an inwardly curved front edge for the base plateis shown at 63 in Fig. 3. Moreover, the front edge may also be beveledto facilitate the shoving of the base plate under an object to be moved.

The upper section of my attachment when my attachment is made in theform illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, includes a pair of tubularsupports I3, each formed with a. double pair of flanges I4, by means ofwhich the tubular supports are secured to the elevator frame I2 inparallel upwardly-extending position. A bar I5 is slidably-mounted ineach tubular support I3. A box-like bracket I6, having two parallel sidewalls, is welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the top of each bar I5.

An adjustable top arm assembly, indicated as a main bar II, having apair of rear branch arms I8 which in turn are pivotally mounted in thebrackets I6 respectively, and a sleeve member l9, adjustably positionedon the main bar I! and having a pair of branches extending in opposite,forward, oblique directions from the forward end of the sleeve member I9and terminating in downwardly curved ends 2|, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.The sleeve member I9 is secured in the desired position on the main barH by a pin or bolt (not shown) extending through registering holes inthe series of holes 22 (Fig. 3) in both main bar I! and sleeve memberI9, and thus the overall length of the top arm assembly, andconsequently the distance at which the forward ends 22 will bepositioned ahead of the brackets I6, can easily be adjusted. A web orstop 64 in each bracket I6 below the hinge joints for the branch arms I8hold the hinged top arm assembly from dropping down below a positionsubstantially at right angles with respect to the bars I5, whilepermitting the top arm assembly to be moved to a position of greaterangularity with respect to the bars I5. A roller 28 is mounted on ahorizontal stub shaft in each bracket I6 and the periphery of the rollerextends beyond the front edges of the bracket.

The manner in which my attachment, as thus far described, may beemployed in the handling of an article of freight such as a crate, forexample, will be now explained with reference to the diagrammaticillustrations Figs. 6A, 6B, 6C and 6D. In these figures C indicates acrate which is to be lifted and moved by the truck. The elevator frameI2, to which my attachment is secured as previously described, is raisedin the end lift II of the truck I0 until the top arm assembly 65 hasreached a height above the top of the crate C and the end lift II of thetruck is tilted slightly forwardly. The truck I'll is then moved upclose to the crate C approximately into the position indicated in Fig.6A. If necessary the length of the top arm assembly 65 is previouslyadjusted so that the assembly will be long enough to extend the entiredistance across the top of the crate C and so that the downwardly curvedends ZI will be positioned above the outer face of the crate. With thetruck, end lift, and my attachment approximately in the relativepositions with respect to the crate C as shown in Fig. 6A, the elevatorframe I2 is then lowered in the end lift I I.

By the lowering of the elevator frame I2 my attachment is brought intothe position illustrated in Fig. 6B. The top arm assembly 65 during thelowering of the elevator frame I2 is brought into engagement with thetop of the downwardly while the top arm assembly remains resting againstthe top of the crate C.

When the various parts of my attachment are in the relative positionsshown in Fig. 6B, and the end lift II of the truck is in theforwardly-tilted position illustrated, the operator of the truck nowmoves the truck forward a few inches. This causes the upper part of myattachment, specifically the rollers 28, to push against the upper partof the crate C and to tip the crate C forwardly until the adjacent wallof the crate becomes substantially parallel to the frame of the endliftII as shown in Fig. 6C, and the hinged base plate 25 to be below theadjacent bottom edge of the crate C.

The operator on the truck now tilts the end lift II in the reverseposition, or backwardly, into the position shown in Fig. 6D. Thistipping of the end lift also causes the crate C to be tippedcorrespondingly, due to the engagement of the top arm assembly, and itsdownwardly-extending ends 2|, with the crate. The result is that thebottom edge of the crate will rest on the base plate 25 of my attachmentand the crate will then be supported entirely by the attachment andconsequently supported entirely on the end lift. The crate C can now beraised bythe end lift and moved about by the truck as desired.Obviously, in unloading the crate C fromthe truck, when the crate hasbeen moved to its desired new location, substantially the same procedurewill be followed but in reverse order. Thus the loading, moving, andunloading can all be done by the operator of the truck withoutassistance and without the necessity of the operator leaving hisposition on the truck.

When the crate C is being tipped, first on the forward bottom edge, andthen on the rear bottom edge, thus, for example, when the crate is beingtipped from the position of Fig. 63 to the positions of Fig. 6C and Fig.6D a slight sliding engagement occurs between the lift attachment andthe adjacent wall of the crate; This sliding engagement is taken care ofby the rollers 28 which serve as the contact elements bearing.

against the adjacent crate wall.

In the event the article to be moved consists of a barrel instead of therectangularly shaped crate illustrated, the barrel can be handled in thesame manner with equal facility. In the handling of barrel it is anadded convenience to have the front edge of the base plate 25 curved, asshown at 63 in Fig. 3, since the engagement of the bottom curved rim ofthe barrel withthe beveled and curved edge 63 causes less likelihood ofany tendency on the part of the barrel to sway laterally while thebarrel is resting on the base plate during the positioning of thebarrel.

In the modified form of my attachment shown in Figs. 4 and 5, theattachment is made as a complete unit instead of having entirelyseparate base section and upper section. A single upright tubularsupport 3| takes the place of the pair of tubular supports in thepreviously described construction, and this tubular support 3I is weldedat the bottom to the main mounting plate 38. The main mounting plate 30is bolted to the lower portion of the elevator frame I2 of the end lift,and the attachment is further secured in place by bolts extendingthrough the upper portion of the elevator frame I2 and through a pair offlange 32 on'the'tubular support 31.

Ashaft 33, mounted in the tubular support 3|, and adjustably slidabletherein, has a box-like bracket 35 mounted on its top end. The top armassembly is hingedly mounted in the bracket 35 and includes a main toparm 31, shaped approximately as shown in Fig. 5, a sleeve member 38,adjustable thereon, and a pair of branch arms 39, havingdownwardly-extending tips, extending from the front portion of thesleeve member 38. The sleeve member 38 is held in desired position onthe top arm 3'! by a pin or bolt extending through registering holes inthe sleeve and top arm, and similarly the shaft 33 is held at thedesired height in the tubular support 3| by a bolt or pin extendingthrough registering holes 34 in both members. A loadengaging block 36 ishingedly mounted on the bracket 35 below the hinge of the top armassembly for the purpose of engaging the upper portion of the adjacentface of the article to be tilted and moved.

A foot plate 4|! is hingedly connected to the bottom part of the mainmounting plate 30, as indicated in Figs. 4 and 5, and a foot baseextension 4! is secured to the bottom face of the foot plate by weldingor other suitable means. When my attachment in this form is usedprimarily for barrels and drums, I find it convenient to provide a pairof obliquely-extending guide rests 42 on the foot plate, positioned asshown.

The manner in which my attachment, in this modified form, is employed issimilar to that previously described. The shaft 33 supporting the toparm assembly, instead of sliding up and down in the tubular support 3|,is set at approximately the right height for a standard barrel, forexample. The truck approaches the barrel with the end lift tippedforwardly and with the attachment slightly raised so that the top armasembly will pass over the top of the barrel. Then the attachment islowered a few inche and the hinged block 36 is pushed against the barrelcausing the barrel to tip slightly while the foot base extension 4| isshoved under the bottom edge of the barrel until the guide rests 42engage the barrel wall. The rest of the operation follows in the manneralready described.

In Fig. '7 I show my attachment with a modified top-engaging assemblyadapted for engagement with the top face of the article to be moved, inplace of the top arm assemblies shown in the preceding figures. Insteadof having arms with downwardly-extending ends which reach over the crateor barrel to engage the top of the forward wall, I provide a topclamping plate designed to be held down by spring pressure in a panel ofthe top face, or between, or in engagement with transverse ribs on thetop face, or within the upper rim or chime of the barrel. The purpose ofthe top clamping plate is of course the same as the purpose of the toparm assembly with the engaging elements previously described, namely toenable the crate or barrel to be tipped by my attachment, firstforwardly and then backwardly during the loading operation.

Referring further to Fig. '7, the clamping plate assembly is supportedon a bar 43 which in turn is mounted in the tubular support 3|. A doublebracket 44, formed from a pair of parallel side plates, is secured tothe top of the bar 43. A hinged guide sleeve 49 is mounted at the outerend of the bracket 44, and a guide shaft 4'! slides in this guidesleev'e 49. The "upper end of the guide'shaftcarriesalimit nut 50. Theplate 46 isrigidly secured, through suitable means, to the bottom'end'ofthe guide shaft 41. A coil spring 48 is carried on the shaft 41 and willbe held under compression between the guide sleeve 49 and the plate 46.A bracket 52 is secured on theplate '46, and a link 53 has one endpivoted in the bracket 52 and the other end pivoted in the main bracket44. An engaging block or engaging ribs 5! are secured on the bottom faceof the plate 46 to provide proper engagement with a recessed panel inthe top'of the crate, or with slats or cleats on the top of the crate,or with the top rim on the top of the barrel.

With this modified top assembly in my attachment, the operation of theattachment is also similar to the operation of the attachment with thepreviously described top arm assemblies. The top plate 46 is positionedabove the crate or barrel to be moved, and the lowering of the elevatorframe with the end lift attachment then causes the top plate to pressdown on the crate or barrel and to maintain a firm hold on the sameunder spring pressure. The tipping and loading of the crate or barrelthen follow as previously described.

Inthe carrying out of my invention other modifications could be made inportions of my lift attachment within the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In an industrial truck of the character described, the combination ofan end lift adapted to be tilted forwardly and rearwardly, an elevatorframe in said end lift, and a load-handling attachment on said elevatorframe, said loadhandling attachment including a member extendingupwardly substantially parallel to said end lift, a mounting for saidmember, said mounting secured to said elevator frame, said memberslidable up and down in said mounting, a load engaging top assemblyextending forwardly from said member and lift and hingedly mounted onthe top of said member for limited up and down swing with respect tosaid member, said top assembly adapted to extend over the top of anobject to be handled by said truck and having downwardly-extendingengaging means at its outer end to engage the top edge on the forwardside of said object, an element mounted at the upper end of said memberadapted to bear against the upper portion of the rear side of saidobject adjacent said lift when said top assembly is in place over said'object, said element adapted to tip said object forwardly when saidtruck is moved slightly forwardly with said lift tipped forwardly, and abase plate centrally positioned at the bottom of said elevator frame,extending forwardly and hinged to said frame for limited up and downmovement with respect to said frame, whereby, when said top assembly isin place over said object, with said lift tilted forwardly, the loweringof said elevator frame until said base plate rests on the ground,followed by a slight forward movement of said truck, will cause saidobject to be tilted forwardly by said element and said base plate to bepositioned under said object, whereupon subsequent rearward tilting ofsaid lift will result in said object being positioned entirely on saidattachment.

2. In an industrial truck of the character described, the combination ofan end lift adapted to be tilted forwardly and rearwardly, an elevatorframe in said end lift, and a load-handling attachment on said elevatorframe, said loadhandling attachment comprising a pair of membersextending upwardly substantially parallel to said end lift, a pair oftubular mountings for said members respectively, said tubular mountingssecured to said elevator frame, said members slidable up and down insaid tubular mountings, a load-engaging top assembly extending forwardlyfrom said members and lift and hingedly mounted on the top of saidmembers for limited up and down swing with respect to said members, saidtop assembly adapted to extend over the top of an object to be handledby said truck and having downwardly-extending engaging means at itsouter end to engage the top edge on the forward side of said object, anelement mounted at the upper end of each of said members adapted to bearagainst the upper portion of therear side of said object adjacent saidlift when said top assembly is in place over said object, said elementsadapted to tip said object forwardly when said truck is moved slightlyforwardly with said lift tipped forwardly, and a base plate attached atthe bottom of said elevator frame, extending forwardly from said liftand hinged for limited up and down movement with respect to said frame,said base plate extending transversely across the bottom of said frameand having a beveled concave front edge, whereby,

8 when said'top assembly is in place over said object, with said lifttilted forwardly, the lowering of said elevator frame until said baseplate rests on the ground, followed by a slight forward movement of saidtruck, will cause said object to be tilted forwardly by said elementsand said base plate to be positioned under said object, whereuponsubsequent rearward tilting of said lift will result in said objectbeing positioned entirely on said attachment.

SAMUEL WEISS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,196,822 Bissell Apr. 9, 19402,281,012 Sears Apr. 28, 1942 2,329,439 Hanssen Sept. 14, 1943 2,368,122Dunham Jan. 30, 1945 2,386,759 Ulm Oct. 16, 1945 2,473,410 Bevevino June14, 1949 2,496,079 Wessman Jan. 31, 1950 2,517,085 Cirillo Aug. 1, 19502,539,233 Dickson Jan. 23, 1951 2,545,021 Coupland et al Mar. 13, 1951

